This invention relates to the general area of closure devices for cans such as paint cans. Its particular applicability relates to closures for vessels which must be sealingly closed and thereafter conveniently opened for access to contents of the container.
As most people know, with such cans, and particularly paint cans, once the container is opened and used, it often happens that paint is spilled into the upper rim or groove of the vessel. Thereafter, when the lid is placed on top of the rim to matingly and sealingly join the rim, downward pressure is necessary to cause the seal to become effective. This downward pressure splashes paint out of the rim or lip creating an undesirable situation. Moreover, as the paint drys and then seals, the opening and closing of the lid becomes difficult.
It is a primary object of the present invention to provide a dual acting cam closure which will solve the above referred to problem.
While cam closures have been used in the past for sealing can lids to the vessel, none have heretofore been developed which successfully apply both an opening and a closing force in a manner which is gentle, constant but strong, such that the lid can be successfully locked, unlocked and resealed without splashing the can contents.
Moreover, another objective and advantage of the invention is that one does not need to use any additional tools for opening and closing of the can, but the opening and closing means is wholly self-contained directly on the can.
A yet further object of the invention is to provide a simple and economical lock and unlock device usable for sealing, releasing and resealing can lids in an effective manner even though there might be some of the contents of the can spilled on the can rim.
Other objects and advantages of the structure rely on the particular functional and structural arrangements of the individual components, and will be discussed as appropriate in further portions of the specification. The method and means of accomplishing each of these objectives will be apparent from the detailed description which follows.